Understanding injustice in individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Mapping out epistemic injustice in experiences of psychosis within early intervention services: a qualitative cross-sectional study
IRAS ID
274885
Contact name
Aneela Khan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Birmingham
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Does epistemic injustice occur in individuals with psychosis and how do they make sense of these experiences?
Epistemic injustice is defined as an individual being treated unfairly based upon the fact they belong to a particular group, for example, having a mental illness. This fundamental form of injustice could potentially be the foundation for more severe forms of injustice i.e. coercion or involuntary admission to a psychiatric hospital. Therefore, there is a need to examine whether epistemic injustice occurs, before finding ways to prevent this from taking place. Past literature has used descriptive approaches of real-life case studies to discuss this concept in healthcare, psychiatry, and the assessment of delusions, however, no studies have examined psychosis specifically. There is an absence of evidence to suggest that a more thorough qualitative approach examining epistemic injustice that the present study aims to achieve has previously been conducted. 18-30 participants will be recruited from early intervention services (EIS). The sample will be split into 3 groups of 6-10 participants each. The first group will broadly explore epistemic injustice within psychosis. A cross-sectional sample will be used for the second two groups to explore and compare occurrences of epistemic injustice in individuals in their 1st or 2nd year of using EIS and individuals in their 3rd - 5th year of using EIS. To be eligible for the study, individuals must be native English speakers diagnosed with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder with the capacity to consent, between the ages of 18 and 35. Consenting participants will be interviewed and partly audio-recorded for 2-3 hours at the University of Birmingham. Transcribed interviews will then be coded and analysed following the guidelines of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/YH/0180
Date of REC Opinion
29 Jun 2020
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion